Disclaimer: I don't own any of the orginial Harry Potter character because I am not that creative...but I wish i was...I only own the plot and my characters.
Unbreak My Heart
chapter 6: The Nights are so Unkind
The night was whirling around the two young men as they made their way to Hogsmeade. It was a short ride but seemed to take forever and as Draco landed, he turned to Blaise to give him his final instructions.
"I will do all the talking here but whatever you hear, don't react or repeat understand?"
"So I'll find out the name of the target?" he asked hopefully.
"Maybe though I wish you didn't have to."
"Why? How can I help you if I don't know what we're doing or who we're after?"
"Because it won't be easy for you to know."
"None of this has been easy."
"True but this will be the hardest by far. I believe that you may have grown fond of this person."
"It's not Potter though, right?"
"No, it's not Potter."
"Thank Merlin for that. I can deal with anyone but him."
"Don't be so sure. C'mon he's waiting for us." Draco ordered and walked into the Hog's Head to a darkened corner table. Sitting there was a pale and ragged man with a captivating stare. It was like he was reading their minds and they were powerless to stop it.
"Draco Malfoy, I presume." the stranger spoke low and firm.
"Yes. I believe that you have some information for me."
"I do. It a tragedy really, such a beautiful specimen but uncontrollable."
"Sure, whatever you say. What information do you have for me?"
"A little testy are we? Not feeling nostagalic about her killing your father, are you?" Draco looked over to Blaise who he noticed had caught the slip by the sight of the blood draining from his face.
"No just wishing that I had a stake ready." Draco groaned.
"Won't help I assure you. She won't go that easily."
"Then how?"
"You have to drive her insane so that she drains herself." the stranger smirked from Draco's reaction.
"Why?"
"Because she's the only weakness that she has. Didn't think it was going to simple, now did you?"
"I guess not but I was hoping it would be quicker. This is going to take a fair amount of time." Draco exhaled deeply.
"Maybe not." Blaise interrupted.
"Huh?"
"What drove Hermione over the edge?" Blaise replied.
"But that would mean..." Draco began but stopped himself for the sheer impossibility of it. Hermione would never understand, would she?
-
The frantic exit of Katie's left everyone except Tara utterly baffled. What could have prompted such a display from her, Ron considered privately, better yet, why had Tara antagonized her so viciously? It appeared to Harry and Ron that the whole world was falling apart around them like never before, even with Voldemort's threats so could it be possible that they were all happier and safer without such memories? Only time would answer that question but at what price would that come?
"Why did you do that?" Harry scolded Tara in hushed tones while Ron left to calm Katie.
"Because she blamed me for all this."
"Why would she do that?"
"How should I know? Probably still distraught over her recovered memories of Cheyan." Tara replied dismissively.
"Maybe but I think you sensed something more." Harry ventured.
"Like what?" she asked as she glared back at him.
"Well...perhaps she thinks that you are the reason for all the deaths. In a strange sort of way, you are but not by your own choice." He went on to explain. "Look, I don't blame you but you are what brought on the attack by Voldemort. She's just starting to remember bits and pieces, maybe she reacted to only part of the truth?"
"I suppose it could be that but..." Tara looked at him suspiciously before continuing. "What do you now remember?"
"I remember what I felt for her before you came here...and I remember how that changed after you arrived but..." his face scrunched up at the question lingering in between the lines.
"But what?" she fumed as her blood began to boil in her veins.
"But I don't remember why it all changed. Do you?"
"We just looked at each other and it all clicked."
"Tell me about your powers. I know how mine work, how I can make anyone at anytime want me so..." Harry was watching her closely for the reaction and got just what he didn't want.
"You think that I put a spell on you, don't you?" She spat venomously.
"Well, wouldn't you?" Tara just stared back at him, how can this be happening now of all times?
-
After wandering the halls for what seemed like an eternity, Ron finally found Katie sitting in the Astronomy Tower with her head lowered and arms wrapping her tightly in a ball. She looked so frail and weak in comparison to the determined woman he remembered from earlier in the week. Although he was normally not very good at reading people, he has a sixth sense that more was going on here than just memories of Cheyan or a conflict with Tara.
"Katie, are you alright?"
"No."
"What happened back there?"
"I just wish that none of this would've happened. Ever since they started talking about reversing the memory charms, I've been having strange dreams and seeing things that can't be real." He could tell that she was at her breaking point but he needed to understand what was happening with her.
"Seeing what things?"
"Probably just forgotten memories coming back but then I started to see..." she just couldn't bring herself to say it, it was just impossible, crazy even maybe.
"See what? Please tell me so I can help you."
"I've been seeing Cheyan and...well she's been showing me things. Things that could have happened but didn't, things that shouldn't have been."
"Why would she do that?" Ron asked although he thought he knew the answer.
"Because she wants me to help fix something."
"What?"
"The prophecy. Harry should have killed Voldemort but he didn't get the chance to because of her."
"Her?"
"Because he saw what she was when she killed Lucius."
"Tara?"
"She was never meant to be, Ron. We have to kill her or he will rise again until the prophecy is fulfilled."
"But he's dead. We saw it, Malfoy killed him."
"No, don't you see? He's connected to Malfoy and now that Malfoy's back then..."
"Bloody hell, so is he?" This revelation and Professor Dumbledore's requests began to come together in frighteningly familiar picture that Ron didn't want to see. And so it was...it was beginning all over again.
-
Without the benefit of clocks, calendars or even day verses night views, Hermione had no idea how long she'd been in this stark white room vaguely reminescent of a sterile hospital. Initially, she had just sat on the sofa trying to contact any and everyone she could imagine but when that failed to yeild any results, she turned to the library of books that the mystery man afforded to her. And it was in the barage of books that she found some of the answers that she was craving.
The Book of the Dead, an ancient egyptian text long since believed to have been destroyed, she came across the rules of death and resurrection. With the proper preparation, anyone could be resurrected from the dead but only for the purpose determined at the point of preservation and if the resurrected one tried to stray from that purpose, then they would be subject to consquences determined by the underworld itself. That's when she remember the ritual that she had she dreamed of one several occasions but always missing the crucial part...it's conclusion.
Merlin, how I wish that I had some parchment and quills to take notes, she thought to herself. Surprisingly, as she looked down, what she desired had appeared prompting her to pick them up and begin writing feverishly until another thought crossed her mind. She began wishing for all sorts of objects and random desires; a radio/cd player appeared along with some of her favorite cd's, pictures of her friends, glimpses into the minds of her friends and Draco and then the greatest desire of all...a door.
Timidly, she approached the door hoping that this wasn't a cruel ploy by her captor intent on breaking her spirit. She willed her hand to grasp the knob and turn it, slowly she felt the latch give way and she inched the door open just enough to peek her head around. Nothing could prepare her for what she saw, it looked like a muggle movie theatre that she'd been to on many excursions, down to the large screen in the middle front of the room. The screen was bear but as she walked down the isle and took a seat, the lights dimmed and words began to come into view on the screen. Blurring at first but as she focused on trying to decipher them, they grew larger and more clear until they covered the entire screen.
"Release Me," was all that it said and as she repeated the words, she heard music in her head and felt the familiar pull at her belly. Just as before, she concentrated on the words of the song and waited to see where she would end up...
Another head hangs lowly,
Child is slowly taken.
And the violence caused such silence,
Who are we mistaken?
The song was not one that she'd ever heard before but she felt the power of it immediately. This is important somehow, she directed herself, someone wants to tell me something but who?
But you see, it's not me, it's not my family.
In your head, in your head they are fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are crying...
Ok, it's a muggle song but who else knows all the muggle music? Oh Merlin, you're here too aren't you? Answer me please, Hermione begged.
In your head, in your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, hey. What's in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, dou, dou, dou, dou, dou...
Wait, are you trying to tell me that you're in my head? Forever? Cheyan?
Another mother's breakin',
Heart is taking over.
When the vi'lence causes silence,
We must be mistaken.
Narcissa. But is this from now or before?
It's the same old theme since nineteen-sixteen.
In your head, in your head they're still fighting,
With their tanks and their bombs,
And their bombs and their guns.
In your head, in your head, they are dying...
I don't understand, she called out, please tell me something if you're really in my head.
In your head, in your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie,
Hey, hey, hey. What's in your head,
In your head,
Zombie, zombie, zombie?
Hey, hey, hey, hey, oh, oh, oh,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, hey, oh, ya, ya-a... Katie...
Hermione felt an incredible pressure consume her mind before she catch and question the final verse. She cried out with all her might and her eyes shut tight, silently praying for the pain to end until she felt the warmth on her arm pulling her out of her trance.
"Tara?" she weeped realizing that she was finally home and never stopping to wonder why it her at her side and no one else was to be found.
(author's note: the song is Zombie by the Cranberries)
Author's notes:
thanks to Mr. Big Bad and natty123 for the reviews...hope you enjoy.
Also...this fic has been nominated in two categories for the Draco/Hermione awards sight called Dangerous Liasions..to vote for this or my other fic The Man Who Sold the World here's the info since I can't get it in my profile...
To vote for my stories at Dangerous Liaisons got to this sight...(take out spaces) www . geocities . com / dangerousliaisons awards / index1 . html...
http: Man Who Sold the World is nominated in The future imperfect award, Why didn't I think of that and Where did that come from categories...
I Miss You is nominated in Once Upon a time and Something to sing about categories...thank you all for your support...
